Monday, April 6, 2015

Girardi hopes Didi learns from baserunning gaffe

There was no need for a dugout conversation after the eighth inning on Monday, which ended with Didi Gregorius caught stealing third base while Mark Teixeira stood at the plate. Joe Girardi's icy glare spoke volumes.

"You know, I'm just going to chalk it up as someone trying to do too much, and in a game like this you're looking for a three-run homer there," Girardi said after the Yankees' 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays. "Your run doesn't mean a whole lot.

"The guy behind you has to get a hit, in a sense. It's probably a real good learning experience that it happened in Game One here, and hopefully it never happens again."

Gregorius said that he erred on the play, believing that he could take advantage of the Blue Jays' shift on Teixeira. With runners at first and second and Miguel Castro on the mound, Gregorius broke for third but was nabbed by a strong throw from catcher Russell Martin.

"It was a bad mistake by me, I'll admit it," Gregorius said. "I'll admit that it was my mistake, and it won't happen again."

Gregorius said that Girardi explained why it would have been better to let Teixeira hit in that situation, and Gregorius said he understood. Gregorius has three stolen bases in six career attempts.

"I thought I had a good jump today, but I didn't, so it was my bad," Gregorius said.

Gregorius was on base after being hit near the right elbow by a pitch from Toronto left-hander Aaron Loup. He was seen on the field by Girardi and head athletic trainer Steve Donohue and stayed in the game, and Girardi said that Tuesday's off-day should help Gregorius be ready to play on Wednesday.

"I think you have to wait to see how he feels on Wednesday, because sometimes there can be swelling after the game and you have to deal with it," Girardi said. "He did not say that we needed to take him out, which was a good sign, but you never know in those situations."